(a non-profit collective promoting traditional & roots folk
music in London since 1973)
UPCOMING
CONCERTS
Scotland’s
brilliant young fiddler
with Alanna Jenish, guitar
Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024 – 7:30 pm
(Doors at 7:00 pm)
Chaucer’s Pub, 122 Carling Street, London
$25 Advance / $30 at the Door
Advance tickets can be
purchased at Chaucer’s Pub/Marienbad Restaurant, Grooves (Wortley Village),
Long & McQuade North (725 Fanshawe Park W) or online
Ryan
Young is leading the 'New Wave' of traditional Scottish Fiddlers.
Experience the soul-stirring magic of Scotland's traditional fiddle like never
before, as Ryan breathes new life into the rich tapestry of traditional
Scottish music. Ryan's fiddle tunes will transport you on an evocative journey
and elevate your soul. He was a huge hit at the Goderich Celtic Roots Festival
in August 2023.
With
a Master of Music degree from the famous Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Ryan
Young has emerged as a rising star on the international music scene. His debut
album, a mesmerizing collection of traditional Scottish tunes, was expertly
produced and recorded by the renowned Boston-based music producer, Jesse Lewis,
right in the heart of Glasgow. Released in 2017, this album is a testament to
Ryan's profound musical prowess. The highly acclaimed follow-up 'just a
second', also in collaboration with Jesse, was released in the UK in October
2023. By joining forces with Jesse Lewis, Ryan Young stands shoulder to
shoulder with an elite league of musicians who have collaborated with the likes
of The Silk Road Ensemble, Yo-Yo Ma, Bela Fleck, Jan Vogler, and Brooklyn
Rider. Embark on a musical adventure with Ryan Young, where tradition meets
innovation, and melodies weave a timeless tale of Scotland's musical heritage
-be part of a transformative experience. The Scotsman News raves, '...a
force of nature” ***** (5 STARS)'.
'....Being
a fiddler myself I have heard many, many up and coming fiddlers from
Scotland,but I am blown away by this singular musician Ryan, I feel, is a
musician with a great gift. He has followed down a path that is his alone with
the music. His playing is unique and soulful. I’ve heard him in concert and can
only liken the experience to being lifted and taken on a journey. His playing
is at once moving and thrilling, and he sweeps the audience along with him.'
- Liz Caroll
Alanna
Jenish tours professionally with the Fitzgeralds, Jane & Kyle and the
Great Canadian Fiddle Show, and enjoys freelancing for numerous bands and solo
projects. Alanna earned her Bachelor of Music with Honours from the University
of Toronto in 2017. She enjoys teaching privately, and has also been an
instructor at various music camps and workshops including Algoma Trad, the
Orangeville Fiddle Camp and Goderich Celtic College.
*******
This
concert is dedicated to the memory of Sheila Scott, a Cuckoo’s Nest original
member from the early 70s, who remained a loyal supporter of our series until
her passing in May 2023.
For
Information call 519-319-5847 or e-mail folk@iandavies.com
Sunfest in cooperation with Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club presents
Direct
from Scotland
with special
guest Jenna Moynihan
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 – 8:00 pm
(Doors at 7:00 pm)
Metropolitan United Church, 468 Wellington St, London
$25 Advance / $30 at the Door
Advance
tickets can be purchased online
Securely ranked among Scotland’s most skilled and imaginative contemporary folk acts, Breabach unite deep roots in Highland and Island tradition with the innovative Scottish music scene. 2022 saw them release their latest studio album Fàs and be awarded ‘Folk Band of the Year’ at the BBC ALBA Scots Trad Music Awards. Breabach are Megan Henderson (Fiddle/Vocals), James Lindsay (Double Bass/Vocals), Calum MacCrimmon (Highland Bagpipe/Whistle/Bouzouki/Vocals), Conal McDonagh (Highland Bagpipe/Whistle/Vocals) and Ewan Robertson (Guitar/Cajon/Vocals). Due to the recent birth Megan Henderson’s new baby girl, she is being replaced for this tour by Jenna Moynihan (Fiddle/Vocals).
To date Breabach has released seven increasingly acclaimed albums, whilst fuelling their creative appetites in collaborations with BAFTA award winning animator Cat Bruce on short film Dùsgadh, indigenous Australasian artists Moana & The Tribe, Quebec’s Le Vent du Nord, video game composer Big Giant Circles and as artists-in-residence at 2019’s Celtic Colours festival with Cape Bretoners Beòlach.
2023 saw the band present their music widely across the United States, the UK and Europe with 2024 set for more performances in North America and beyond. Fàs (a Gaelic word meaning growth) is an album heavily inspired by the natural environment of Scotland and sees the band showcase more progressive elements in their music than ever before. The protection, conservation and regeneration of the natural world influenced every part of the album making process, from song composition and sourcing material to the recording process and album production.
Breabach’s 19-year adventure has included live performances from Sydney Opera House to Central Park New York, Cambridge Folk Festival to WOMAD New Zealand. They have racked up an impressive array of accolades including six 'Scots Trad Music Awards', nominations as ‘Best Group’ (BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards), ‘European Album of the Year’ (Songlines Music Awards) and the 'Quarterly Critic's Choice' (German Record Critic's Award 2023).
“Matching fiery intensity with exquisite finesse, this was a magnificent set” ★★★★★ - The Scotsman
“Exhilarating,
energetic and accomplished” - Songlines
For Information call 519-319-5847 or e-mail folk@iandavies.com
Sunfest in cooperation with Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club presents
Direct
from Wales & Ireland
CATRIN
FINCH & AOIFE NÍ BHRIAIN
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024 – 8:00 pm
(Doors at 7:00 pm)
Wolf Performance Hall, 251 Dundas St, London
$25 Advance / $30 at the Door
Advance tickets can be purchased online
Dublin
native Aoife Ní Bhriain is one of Ireland's foremost traditional fiddle
players and a classical violinist of international stature who commands both
the classical world and her Irish traditional heritage. From across the Irish
Sea and the west coast of Wales, harpist Catrin Finch has also built an
impressive classical career and ventured into uncharted musical territory, most
notably through her award-winning international collaborations.
Double
You –
their debut album as a duo, which released 27th October 2023 - features an
exquisite collection of new compositions that draw inspiration from across the
genres, taking listeners on a captivating journey on the wings of the bees
across the Irish Sea and inspired by the cultures of their home countries.
Each track on the album begins with the letter 'W', spoken as ‘Double You'; the
tracks allude to the many striking parallels that bind Catrin and Aoife
together, making one the double of the other and affording a deep musical
affinity between the two. Double You tells Catrin and Aoife’s universal
story of having the courage to find and be who you really are, and, as part of
the process, to create something extraordinary.
Double
You
hit Number 1 in the iTunes Classical Charts and the World Music Charts Europe,
#2 in the Transglobal World Music Charts, and received a nomination for Best
Album in the 6th RTÉ Radio 1 Folk Awards. “…a formidable musical
relationship… a moment of musical majesty.” - Teddy Coward, Why Now.
For Information call 519-319-5847 or e-mail folk@iandavies.com
Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 – 7:30 pm
(Doors at 7:00 pm)
Chaucer’s Pub, 122 Carling Street, London
$25 Advance / $30 at the Door
Advance
tickets can be purchased online
Joe
Jencks
is a 25-year veteran of the international folk circuit, an award-winning
songwriter, and celebrated vocalist based in Chicago. Merging conservatory
training with his Irish roots and working-class upbringing, Joe delivers
engaged musical narratives filled with heart, soul, groove and grit. Having
penned several #1 Folksongs including the ever-relevant Lady of The Harbor,
Jencks was also co-founder of the harmony trio, Brother Sun.
From
festivals like Falcon Ridge, Kerrville, Mariposa, and Old Songs, to venues like
Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, Jencks has enthralled diverse audiences with
his approachable style. Joe is noted for his unique merging of musical beauty,
social consciousness, and spiritual exploration. Blending well-crafted
instrumentals and vivid songwriting, Jencks serves it all up with a lyric
baritone voice that has the edgy richness of a good sea-salt caramel.
“The
spirit of Folk music is people working together. Joe is a fantastic singer who
carries on the traditions.”
- Pete Seeger
In
August of 2022, Jencks released his 17th recording, The Coming of the Years,
an album that stands firmly in the modern Celtic traditions and is still
quintessentially a Joe Jencks record. Centered around songs Jencks wrote while
on tour in Ireland over a 12-year period, this album emerges as a synergistic
blend of past and present merging with themes of immigration spanning multiple
generations. The album was received with critical acclaim.
“A
man with a golden voice who has a great feeling for history, and the role that
songs play in documenting that history. The Coming of the Years, by Joe Jencks
is a gorgeous record.”
- Luka Bloom
“Interspersing
his own songs inspired by visits to Ireland to explore his heritage with
carefully chosen covers and traditional pieces, Joe Jencks weaves a tapestry of
love, immigration, history, and Irish pride. The instrumental arrangements
support the vocals tenderly, giving Jencks' deep warm voice space to bring the
lyrics to the fore. The Coming of the Years is an audio treat and a history
lesson.”
- Paul Hartman, Host, "Detour” WTMD, Baltimore & Founder of Dirty
Linen Magazine
For
Information call 519-319-5847 or e-mail folk@iandavies.com
Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024 – 7:30 pm
(Doors at 7:00 pm)
Chaucer’s Pub, 122 Carling Street, London
$25 Advance / $30 at the Door
Advance
tickets can be purchased online
Storytelling
through song is a fundamental duty of traditional music, and Matthew Byrne
does this brilliantly. His musical upbringing has shaped his repertoire, and
Byrne supports this tradition with powerful vocals, polished guitar work, and a
presence that fills the room. With parents who were both singers and song
collectors and a strong family focus on sharing songs, Byrne has inherited a
unique repertoire and a fascination with unearthing and reimagining traditional
songs. “What attracts me to a traditional song is the right combination of
melody and language, which have always fascinated me.”
For Matthew, songs
are ways of understanding people before him...their lives, work, language, and
worldview. “I see songs as sources of the past—windows into my own family
history. Traditional music has always been the most important tool for me to
understand where I come from and who I am. My live performance is meant to take
audiences on a journey through the lineage of my repertoire and share what
these songs have revealed to me.”
Matthew recently
recorded his 4th studio album in Sheffield, UK, and will release it in Fall
2024. Folk legend Martin Simpson produced this latest project, which features
instrumentation from some of the finest musicians on the English folk scene,
including Nancy Kerr, Andy Cutting, Liz Hanks, James Fagan, Louis Campbell, and
Ben Nicholls. Matthew Byrne’s previous two recordings each won Traditional
Album of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards, and his highly anticipated
4th recording will grab further attention from traditional audiences on both
sides of the Atlantic.
“Matt’s interpretation of traditional songs
is somehow fresh and ancient at the same time. And his voice is friggin’
perfect.” — Alan Doyle
“His reverence and respect for his material,
along with his unabashed exploration of new songs and his staggeringly
beautiful voice, makes for the rarest and most vital type of folk performer.” — Tom Power, Host of 'Q' on CBC Radio 1
“Matthew Byrne sings with a voice as true as
a compass needle and is a dab hand on his instruments as well. His “Ballads” is
one of the finest english language traditional albums to come out in many a
year.” — James Keelaghan
For
Information call 519-319-5847 or e-mail folk@iandavies.com
“Songs
for the Snowy Season”
Sunday, December 15, 2024 – 7:30 pm
(Doors at 7:00 pm)
Chaucer’s Pub, 122 Carling Street, London
$25 Advance / $30 at the Door
Advance
tickets can be purchased online
Boreal is the magical musical collaboration of Tannis
Slimmon, Katherine Wheatley and Angie Nussey. These three
hard working singer-songwriters, each with their own longstanding, award
winning careers, simply love playing music together. In the winter, Boreal
shines their collective light on Canada’s coldest months with their show “Songs
for the Snowy Season”. The trio’s spell binding harmonies combined vocal
prowess and tour-de-force songwriting make for a powerful musical event. With
humour, storytelling and heart melting honesty, Boreal takes their audience on
a journey of friendship, laughter and connection.
Boreal
began in 2006, when singer-songwriters Katherine Wheatley, Tannis Slimmon, and
Jude Vadala gathered around Jude’s kitchen table with the idea to create a show
that would kickstart the winter with excitement and joy. Audiences were
enthralled and so the harmonious trio took their show Songs for the Snowy
Season to soft seat theatres across Ontario. Their stage show eventually
turned into a masterfully recorded album called Winter’s Welcome which
was released in 2014.
In
2019, Jude Vadala lovingly retired from Boreal and was replaced by Angie Nussey
(singer/songwriter/producer) who enjoyed one tour with Boreal before the COVID
pandemic. In the more isolated months, and with the momentum of learning
to work ‘together-alone’, Boreal began recording individual parts on songs from
their respective home studios and were able to release Katherine’s Snow
Falls Down in November 2020.
Boreal
will release a new winter CD in December 2024. It will be their first full
recording with Angie, who’s songs Shepherd of The Road, Snowball
Fight of ’92, and Warm Hands, bring a robust dose of first-hand
winter experience.
For
Information call 519-319-5847 or e-mail folk@iandavies.com
Friday, December 20, 2024 – 7:30 pm
(Doors at 7:00 pm)
Chaucer’s Pub, 122 Carling Street, London
$10 at the door
(or Pay What You Can)
Advance
tickets can be purchased online
For
Information call 519-319-5847 or e-mail folk@iandavies.com
The Marienbad Restaurant is
open for dinner on concert days.
Concert day diners
can reserve their seats in Chaucer’s prior to doors opening.
Make your reservation by
calling 519-679-9942
All concerts at begin at 7:30 pm and most are held at Chaucer's,
122 Carling Street, London, ON
(unless otherwise indicated)
Advance tickets can be purchased during the season at
Chaucer's/Marienbad Restaurant, Grooves (Wortley Village),
Long & McQuade North (Fanshawe Park Rd W) and online.
For
Information call 519-319-5847 or e-mail folk@iandavies.com
Special
Advance “5-for-4” Multi-Ticket is available for $100 only
at the Concerts
(pay
for 4 concerts and get the 5th one free)
We continue
to be a completely volunteer run organization. We thank you for your support of
live music and look forward to seeing you at the concerts. – Ian Davies, Artistic Director.
What’s happened
so far in the 2024-25 Season
TALISK - Thursday,
Sept. 19, 2024
(presented
by Sunfest in cooperation with Cuckoo’s Nest Folk Club)
FRIENDS OF FIDDLER’S GREEN – Sunday,
Sept. 22, 2024 – SOLD OUT
(last update September 30, 2024)
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